Dale Jackson

Personal Finance Columnist, Payback Time

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Here’s a bright note for a Black Friday weekend: While frenzied consumers drain their savings and pile on debt, a segment of savers is moving on up.

A new report from the Investment Planning Counsel finds growth in the wealth of “mid-tier and female affluent investors” is outpacing everyone else – even the really rich.

The study is aimed at investment advisors looking for a niche, but it speaks volumes about Canadians who forego consumer trappings and invest to save.

As in most developed countries, affluent investors are an elite club with an oversized portion of wealth. The study finds only 9 per cent of Canadian households have more than $500,000 in investable assets, but control 80 per cent of $3.6 trillion in investable household assets across the country.

Yet, the study also finds the amount of investable wealth controlled by “mid-tier affluent investors” growing at an incredible pace. According to Investor Economics, wealth among investors with assets between $500,000 and $1 million is expected to expand 87 per cent by 2024 to $1 trillion from $536 billion.

A big part of the wealth increase is expected to be enjoyed by women with more than $500,000 in investable assets. The study expects wealth controlled by women to increase 125 per cent in the next eight years to $2.7 trillion from $1.2 trillion.

“Women have captured equal, if not greater, control  of the wealth in the family due, in part, to their longer life spans, ability to create and build their own net worth and their success in breaking through historical stereotypes in the workforce,” the study says.

The study also highlights the risk for all investors saving for retirement. For more on those risks, watch the video above.